Advise needed on sprint/hillclimb/track car

[slammed saloon]

Firstly, hello all!!! I used to be a regular on this forum a few years back when i had novas, unfortunately my mint saloon got written off and i moved away from vauxhalls for a while. I am toying with the idea of building a road legal sprint/hillclimb/track car and i would like some advice as to which route i need to go down. I have a few issues to bear in mind so i will list them :)

I live in guernsey and we have a very good motorsport calender over here with numerous sprint and hillclimb meetings throughout the year, another advantage is its a 2 hour ferry crossing to St Malo and then onwards to the ring!!

I looking to build a 3 door hatch nova for mainly hill climbing and sprints but with the odd track day and ring trip thrown in. Obviously i am looking to keep the car as competitive as possible and i dont want to spend a massive amount building it as i can do all the work needed myself as im a mechanic.

I see the good old xe is still very popular and very good power/torque figures can be seen with the right cams and throttle bodies/ carbs. The greatest issue i am going to have is that we dont have any dyno tuners over here to set tb's up properly when i have built the car and ideally i wouldnt want to go to the expense of paying £800 to trailor the car to the uk to have it set up etc.


Any help will be greatly appreciated but i am ideally looking for advice as to what set up to go for including engine and suspension/ brake advice.


Cheers guys :thumb:

[burgo]

i would start by welcoming you back :D

then i would surgest advising to look at the rules and regs for what you plan to compete in as these pretty much specify which route to go down with your budget

[slammed saloon]

Cheers burgo :) as for the rules and regs well there pretty much an open book aside from classing by engine size and road going production class etc thats why i want advise on which set up would be best

[burgo]

well which class appeals to you. generally the bigger the engine and the higher the class the more your gonna end up paying out. if it was me being new to it then i would start of by spending my money on proper suspension and brakes and running a fairly standard small block. its pointless bolting a 200bhp + xe in it straight away imo as you want to hone your skill first

[slammed saloon]

yea very true buddy but i think the smallest engined car that races over here is an 1600 vti eg civic with cams exhaust suspension etc so even with a gsi engine with moderate work im still going to get owned!!!

[peester]

theres an easy answer to this:
you need to buy this.. if its still for sale..
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132042

[slammed saloon]

that car is a weapon although last time i saw it on ebay it was fetching crazy money!!!

[peester]

lol it is the creme de la creme.. but its gonna cost crazy money to build a track/hillclimb/sprint car lol
otherwise itll just be a stripped out modified road car.

[novarally]

that car is a weapon although last time i saw it on ebay it was fetching crazy money!!!

Crazy money? It didn't get anywhere near the price it needed to, and was withdrawn from sale.

It's still for sale at £5k.

[slammed saloon]

ok colin im not treading on anyones toes or saying its not worth that its just more than i would be prepared to spend and id rather build something myself

[Mike]

yea very true buddy but i think the smallest engined car that races over here is an 1600 vti eg civic with cams exhaust suspension etc so even with a gsi engine with moderate work im still going to get owned!!!

Correct.

But to start with, as Burgo says, you want to hone your skills before you think about pushing other motors down the ranks so to speak.

As said, id start with a sorted chassis & running gear on a smaller cc engine. Progress from there an see how you get on.

If you serious about some motorsport, id recommend you join your local Motor Club, of which theres a few around you IIRC?

[slammed saloon]

yes mike there are a few around so that wont be a problem at all. im hoping to rent a workshop at the end of next month so i can get moved in and get a car sorted. so something like a 1600 8v engine with a spot on suspension and brake setup would be ideal? Has anyone built a car like this so i can have a browse at the spec

[burgo]

there was one but its gone now. plus if it were me id rather have the 1.6 16v

[Count Vaux Alot]

Crazy money? It didn't get anywhere near the price it needed to, and was withdrawn from sale.

It's still for sale at £5k.

I wish a had £5k thats a bargain imo considering what i and many others have spent on cars that haven't even seen the road let alone been as competitive as this car has, dam bank balance :mad:

[Count Vaux Alot]

there was one but its gone now. plus if it were me id rather have the 1.6 16v

1.6 16v turbo ftw lol

[Mike]

something like a 1600 8v engine with a spot on suspension and brake setup would be ideal? Has anyone built a car like this so i can have a browse at the spec

there are several very well sorted cars like that on here.

Dan's old one is probably the best one I'd say for track/sprint fun, Dar's is also fantastic altho bigger cc's.

[burgo]

there are several very well sorted cars like that on here.

Dan's old one is probably the best one I'd say for track/sprint fun, Dar's is also fantastic altho bigger cc's.

all the pics have gone from dans old one :(

[Mike]

all the pics have gone from dans old one :(

Damn :( that was a fantastic read too :(